SZA Releases Music Video for ‘Garden (Say it Like Dat)’

SZA’s video ‘Garden (Say it Like Dat)’ boasts direction by Karena Evans, who also directed Drake’s ‘God’s Plan’ and ‘Nice For What’ videos. Also, SZA recently appeared in Childish Gambino’s inspiring and controversial ‘This Is America‘ video, which is now a number one song on the charts. So far, she’s shared several music videos from her début album Ctrl, including ‘Supermodel,’ ‘Broken Clocks,’ ‘Doves in the Wind’ (featuring Kendrick Lamar), and ‘The Weekend’ (directed by Solange)

In a cover story for V Magazine, she claimed ‘Meditation is the easiest way to re-center and ground yourself.’ Aptly, the visual concept for ‘Garden’ reveals a meditative garden as SZA welcomes Glover into her original paradise. The visuals are tranquil, as she seems relaxed in the elements of nature. She asks in sublime awareness ‘Can you remind me of my gravity? Ground me when I’m tumblin’, spiralin’, plummetin’ down to Earth.’

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Solána‘s musical and visual themes highlight zen and black artistry. In a 2016 interview with Complex she said, ‘I feel good being a black woman; I’ve always felt good. But to be a black woman right now, it definitely feels like I have back up…That’s a good feeling. I’ve never felt like that before.’ This quote resonates as viewers get to see the New Jersey native’s mother, Audrey Rowe, make a special appearance near the end of the video.

The voice speaking in the end of ‘Garden’ and the lyrics combine to show influences of self-esteem, especially for women: ‘You know I’m sensitive about havin’ no booty, havin’ no body, only you buddy, can you hold me when nobody’s around us?’ SZA’s mother also represents generations of strength and wisdom in the apparatus of esteem formation. Recently, she claimed, ‘I talk to my mom a lot. If I feel super chaotic, she usually calls me first…she always knows…she can find joy in anything. She’s incredibly nonreactive; there’s so much love emanating from her presence… She used to be a pathologist, so her voice is soothing; I love her.’